Feds name new CEO and chairman for AECL

OTTAWA – The federal government named a new chief executive and chairman for Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. on Friday, following the sale of its nuclear reactor business to SNC-Lavalin (TSX:SNC) earlier this year.

Ottawa said Robert Walker, who was senior vice-president of nuclear laboratories at AECL, will take over from Hugh MacDiarmid as chief executive.

Walker, an engineer by training, has also worked as assistant deputy minister of science and technology at the Department of National Defence and the chief executive of Defence Research and Development Canada.

Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver also named former Royal Bank chief financial officer Peter Currie as the new chairman of the Crown corporation.

Currie, who was also once chief financial officer of Nortel Networks Corp., has served on the AECL board since 2008.

Since the sale of the reactor business, AECL has focused on its nuclear laboratories division, which has a staff of more than 3,000, mainly in Chalk River, Ont., and Whiteshell, Man.

The division manages nuclear waste, conducts research and development and produces medical isotopes.

SNC acquired the nuclear reactor business earlier this year for $15 million. The company also promised to protect 1,200 AECL jobs.

The federal government retained ownership of CANDU intellectual property and provided SNC with an exclusive licence for the technology. But Ottawa will be able to collect royalties from any future sales.

AECL has long been a headache for Ottawa and swallowed billions of dollars in subsidies.

It had also faced major cost overruns at key projects in recent years while struggling to find a buyer.